


quasi

by starbirb



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Spoilers for vol 3, it's There but it's also not the entire fic, the ruby/penny can be read as platonic or romantic, this is also unedited i wrote it at like 1 am, this is very sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2016-04-03
Packaged: 2018-05-30 22:29:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6444565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starbirb/pseuds/starbirb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Is she a real girl? Or, rather, <i>was</i> she?</p>
            </blockquote>





	quasi

**Author's Note:**

> hello! i really should write more. i wrote this on a whim - it's very sad, but also kinda hopeful. maybe? like i said in the tags, this is unedited and i'm very tired, so there might be mistakes. i'll look at this in the morning. i'm very sorry. i hope you like it!

Penny doesn’t know if she’s dead, only because she doesn’t know if she was ever truly alive.

Was she?

She was, sort of, maybe. It’s hard to tell, because she’s a robot. Robots don’t live-they just... operate, really.  She’s not a _real girl_. She’s just, a sort of, alive,  _thing_. She has an aura, but is that all it takes? To be somebody, and not some _thing_?

No, wait, Penny  _had_ an aura, not has. Or maybe has? God, everything is so confusing. One thing for sure is that Penny has no idea what’s going on. Where is she, anyways? Everything is gray and hazy. She feels weird--a real person would call it a tired feeling, maybe, but _hello_ , she’s a robot. Or she _was_ a robot? Who knows.

_Don’t say that,_  a tiny voice in her head suddenly pipes up. _You’ve got a soul._

Right, that was... That has to be Ruby. The voice was Ruby. Ruby said she was a real girl.

Oh, oh god. Ruby saw her die, didn’t she? Everyone did. It’s all--it’s all coming back to her. There was no pain - she doesn’t _feel_ pain - but there was a sadness of sorts. Penny wasn’t ready to go. She _isn’t_ ready to go. There was so much she was going to do. She... she could finally make friends. Ruby... _god_ , Penny isn’t ready to go.

Tears start to well up in her eyes. Suddenly, everything in her hurts like it never has before--Penny wasn’t made to feel pain, but she did feel emotions. And emotions cut and bleed everywhere, even if it’s invisible. Even if they bleed from her soul, that she isn’t quite positive she has, but Ruby thinks she has a soul, so she must have one, right? She has to believe in Ruby, because Ruby believes in her.

Or, well, she _had_ a soul. Ruby _believed_ in her.

The tears are now falling freely. Penny doesn’t remember the last time she cried. Did she ever cry? It doesn’t matter.

“Hello?”

A voice calls out. Penny recognizes it--it’s the girl she fought in the tournament last. What was her name?

...

Right, it was Pyrrha. Pyrrha Nikos.

Penny turns around to meet the red haired girl. She blinks, wipes the tears from her eyes. Why was Pyrrha in the gray haze with her? Did she...

“You... did you not...”

“I didn’t,” Pyrrha replies. She frowns.

“What happened?”

“I tried to make up for my mistakes. To save the day. But I think I knew that I wouldn’t win. I just hope that it was enough.”

Pyrrha falls silent. She’s staring at Penny with somberly, and Penny understands what she is doing. She is trying to find words - she’s trying to find an apology. 

But, even if Penny doesn’t understand what happened exactly, she does know it’s not Pyrrha’s fault. And even if she doesn’t know Pyrrha all too well, she knows Pyrrha is kind. She would not do such a thing. There was something greater at force than Pyrrha. At the very least, it is not Pyrrha’s fault.

The apology does not need to be spoken - Penny walks forward and hugs Pyrrha. With this, she hopes the girl understands what she’s trying to say. When Penny breaks away, there are tears in both of their eyes. But they are both smiling - not a fully happy one, but it is a smile.

“You know...” Pyrrha starts, stops, but then continues. “I almost... A Grimm almost got me. But Ruby was there--and she didn’t have her scythe. She used one of your blades.”

Penny’s eyes widen, before they prickle with tears. 

“I... I miss her,” Penny confesses. “I miss everyone already.”

“I do, too,” Pyrrha replies. “But... I do hope they don’t join us yet. They have to win, do they not?”

“They do! They must,” Penny wipes her eyes again, and she smiles brightly. “They will, I know they will.”

Pyrrha studies Penny for a second. “I don’t know if you’re ready to join me either. You can be rebuilt, yes? From what I saw...”

“...Possibly. I do not know. I am mechanical, but...”

“I see. Are you going to stay here until you know for sure, then?”

“Are you leaving, then?” 

“I think I have to.”

As Pyrrha says that, her entire body flickers.

“N-No! Please, don’t!” Penny cries out. “I don’t... Please don’t leave me alone! Can I go with you?”

Suddenly, Penny hurts again. Her emotions are bleeding out, but she doesn’t care - even if she doesn’t want to go, she doesn’t want to be alone. She doesn’t want to be _here_.

“I’m... I’m sorry, Penny,” Pyrrha smiles. “But you have a chance. A chance to _live_. I don’t quite know it, but I think you do. Please, wait, and you’ll either see me again, or you’ll be rebuilt. You’ll get to see everybody again. Please, have hope.” She’s flickering in and out again, faster this time. “If you see everyone, please tell them I said hello. Tell my team I have the upmost faith in them.”

“Pyrrha...”

“And... and tell Ruby thank you.” Pyrrha waves goodbye as she fades away.

Penny is left alone. She sinks to the ground, feeling... mixed. Sad. Hopeful? Hurting. But she is _feeling_. That has to count for something.

That fact, and Pyrrha’s words, and... and the hope of seeing Ruby again, make Penny smile again. She is still hurting, but she can still find a smile. She might get to see Ruby. That fills her with a sort of bittersweet happiness because - because... she might _not_ get to see everybody, but she _might_.

She will wait. She will hope. It will be enough.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm of the mind that penny might be rebuilt in vol 4. you could call me in denial, but [clenches fist] let me BELIEVE
> 
> if you liked this, yay! if you didn't, feel free to critique! i'm looking to get better. anything and everything is appreciated. c:


End file.
